“I’ve never heard of the one-point safety rule,” K-State linebacker Arthur Brown said after the game.

Wide receiver Chris Harper concurred, while quarterback Collin Klein simply shrugged and said, “It was one of those weird things that happen I guess.”

The Ducks had just scored on a 2-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Marcus Mariota to go up 31-10 on the Wildcats in the third quarter.

Then, K-State’s Javonta Boyd blocked Oregon kicker Alejandro Maldonado’s extra point attempt, and the ball was recovered by the Wildcats on the field, but then pitched back to K-State defensive back Allen Chapman in the end zone.

Chapman was tackled by the Ducks and the score initially stood at 31-10.

Then Cherry declared the one-point safety, which was subsequently confirmed upon review.

The last time any team scored on a one-point safety in a BCS-level college football game appears to have been on Nov. 26, 2004, when Texas was gifted with the rare play in a home game against rival Texas A&M.

Thomas makes Fiesta history

Oregon sophomore running back De’Anthony Thomas made Fiesta Bowl history on the very first play of the game when blew by the K-State kickoff unit and ran the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.

The play marked the first time in the history of the Fiesta Bowl that the opening kick has ever been returned for a score, and was only the fourth time in bowl history that the first score in a game was a non-offensive touchdown.

Thomas has a knack for long, speedy special teams scores. He returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown against USC in 2011, and had a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown against Colorado this season.

Goodbye Chip?

The Ducks took the field against K-State with rumors about Chip Kelly’s possible departure for the NFL swirling around.

In the leadup to the game, Kelly demurred every time he was asked about the NFL, but after the game, he was once again bombarded with questions about whether he would be leaving Oregon – a program that he’s led to four-straight BCS bowl games since taking the reins as head coach in 2009.

“I have no idea. My agent’s the best. I told him I wasn’t talking to anybody until after the game was over,” Kelly said. “Our focus was soeluy on this football game. If for some reason, some teams want to talk to me, it’s because of those players over there.

If Kelly does leave Oregon for the NFL, he’ll go out with a 46-7 record as head coach, as one of only four coaches to ever guide schools to a quartet of BCS bowl appearances.

Kicking streak snapped

Oregon has struggled on field goals this season, and ineffective senior Rob Beard was replaced by junior Alejandro Maldonado with three games left in the season. But Maldonado struggled too, and came into the game 1-of-4 on field goals despite being a perfect 16-of-16 on extra points.

Maldonado snapped his streak of three consecutive misses when he converted a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter.

Then, ironically enough, Maldonado proceeded to snap his streak of 16-straight successful extra points when K-State blocked the extra point that resulted in the freakish one-point safety in Oregon’s favor.